Ted Hayes begins a new Friday show today on WKVI. It’s called “Ted Hayes Remembers” and allows him to talk with interesting people and tell stories from his four decades at the station.
Ted follows the migration of the Seabern Bailey family from Kentucky to Starke County. Besides the mother and father, there were 12 children and in their own way each became a success in business and their personal lives.
One of the children, Ed Bailey, said there was love, church and work in the family.
A special Prosecutor has been named for the joined trial of Kimberly Hitchens and John Brooke in Starke Circuit Court. Howard County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, Michael Krebes, has been appointed to represent the State of Indiana. The request for a special Prosecutor was made by Starke County Prosecutor Nicholas Bourff as Bourff had previous consultations regarding representation of the defendants.
The trial scheduled for this February has been postponed allowing the Special Prosecutor time to prepare for trial.
Marilyn Wickert is retiring from the Starke County Extension Office, having served 16 years in the office. She also served two years in the 1970s where she served as the first full-time Youth Educator in the County.
Marilyn was asked what she enjoyed most while working at the Extension Office.
Starke County Sheriff’s Department officers arrested two citizens on meth related charges after a traffic stop, Monday.
Police saw a car slide through a red light and conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle, driven by Randall Appleton, of North Judson. While investigating the incident, police found methamphetamine and items allegedly used to make methamphetamine. Appleton was arrested and has preliminary charges of Possession of Methamphetamine, Visiting a Common Nuisance, Possession of Precursors, and Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Deliver. Continue reading
Does Starke County need to upgrade it’s ambulance service by adding Advanced Life Service? This is the second in a series we have been running this week on this topic.
As we told you yesterday, Starke County is one of only two counties in the state that does not offer Advanced Life Service to its citizens. Even though officials have heard that the service can be paid for by charging higher rates with the Advanced Life Service, it is probably going to cost approximately $250,000 to secure the services of licensed paramedics.
Kris Rannells has worked as a paramedic in the past before returning home to join the family funeral home business in Hamlet. He says the Basic Ambulance Service in Starke County is doing a good job.
“They’re doing the most with what they have, but you’re going to have a better chance of saving more lives and keeping medical situations from expanding into a much more problematic situation with a paramedic than you are with an EMT,” said Rannells. “They are able to give all kinds of different medications and do different things to keep those medical problems from exasperating themselves.”
Kris Rannells was a paramedic in Indianapolis. Ted Hayes asked him about life saving with this upgraded service.
“In the amount of years that I was a paramedic, I can’t necessarily tell you how many lives saved alone, let alone how many lives I saved as a paramedic that would not have been saved as an EMT. I guarantee you, I made a difference as a paramedic. I don’t know about daily, but definitely weekly that would not have been made if I was just an EMT.”
A committee looking into upgrading to Advanced Life Service will meet next with paramedics from other small counties that already have it in place.
A meeting was held last week to consider adding Advanced Life Service to Starke County’s ambulance system. Currently, Starke County is one of only two in the state that does not offer Advanced Life Service to its citizens.
Held at the IU Health-Starke Hospital, the meeting was presided over by former hospital CEO, and current Commissioner Kathy Norem. Kris Rannells is Advanced Life Service certified, and today and tomorrow he will help provide information about this potentially life saving service, and what it will mean to our citizens.
There is no more Starke Memorial Hospital. Well, there is a hospital at the corner of Culver Road and Heaton Street, but the name of the facility was officially changed Thursday. In keeping with the Clarian change throughout the system Starke Memorial will be known as Indiana University Health-Starke Hospital.
“Talking with Spencer Grove from the Indiana Hospital Association said that this is absolutely the first time we’ve changed the name for Starke Hospital,” said CEO Linda Satoski. “It is an exciting day across the entire State of Indiana, moving to the IU Health name and the assurance that it gives our patients, our communities to quality of care, education and research.”
The Honorable Judge Marvin McLaughlin was celebrated last night as the 2010 Henry F. Schricker Service Award winner. With family, friends and dignitaries in attendance, the Judge was praised for living a life of “service before self” which was the motto of the former Governor.
In his acceptance speech, the Judge talked about setting aside politics and working for the good of your community, county, and country.
The Northwest Indiana Forum membership elected its 2011 Managing Board of Directors at its annual meeting last week at the Horseshoe Casino.
Among the new directors elected to continue are: Linda Woloshansky, Center of Workforce Innovations; Ed Volk, LaPorte Municipal Airport; Charles Weaver Starke County Economic Development Foundation; and Bill Wellman, Whiteco.
Hamlet Police officers arrested a Grovertown man and a Knox man after a short foot pursuit Wednesday night.
Hamlet Police Chief, Jeremiah Patrick, told WKVI that police were attempting to conduct a traffic stop on old U.S. 30 and the vehicle fled from police. The vehicle traveled through a field and wrecked into a ditch at 600 North.
The Starke County Commissioners this week voted to approve a request for Video Conferencing at the Starke County Jail. The technology would allow arraignments to be done from the jail, without having to take prisoners to the courtroom.
The cost will be shared between the County, Knox City Court, and the Prosecutor’s office. Both audio and video will be provided by a fiber optic line. Families who want to watch the proceedings can do so on flat screen T.V.s that will be mounted in the courtrooms. The equipment will cost $6,061.00.
Starke County Prosecutor Nicholas Bourff, in an exclusive interview Wednesday with WKVI, talked about the need to replace his Chief Deputy, Todd Wallsmith, with former Chief Prosecutor Mary Ryan.
“There were several factors that led to a quick decision,” said Bourff. “I knew going into it that this was going to be an issue I’d have to face. About a month ago when I gave an interview here, I said ‘if I’m creative enough with how I handle this, I think I can work through it’. I really did think that and then I got into the office and I learned that in order to make it work, I was going to have to absorb not only the previous Prosecutor’s case load, but also the previous Chief Deputy’s case load.”
The 2010 Henry F. Schricker Awards Banquet will be held tonight at the Knox Community Center. Honored will be former Starke County Circuit Court Judge and current County Councilman, Marvin McLaughlin, of North Judson.
When interviewed recently by Ted Hayes, Judge McLaughlin remembered the man of whom the award is named, the late governor Henry F. Schricker.
On Wednesday, January 12th, Knox Masonic Lodge 639 presented the second installment of $200.00 to the Community Services of Starke County Food Bank to help replenish supplies to the pantry after the holidays. The Masonic Lodge had donated $200.00 in November to help with Thanksgiving Day supplies.
Cecilia Torres was very thankful to the Masonic Lodge for their very kind contributions to the pantry and said all donations are greatly appreciated.
WKVI has learned that new Starke County Prosecutor Nicholas Bourff has replaced his Chief Deputy Todd Wallsmith only two weeks into his term.
Both men had been employed by Wallsmith’s father, David, and had developed a friendship. But because Todd Wallsmith was a nephew of Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall, it would have been impossible for him to present cases before the Judge in court. That would have been a conflict.
The Starke County Health Board is considering combining the Environmentalist position with the Food Inspector’s duties. Health Nurse Frank Lynch brought the suggestion to the Board last week.
David Kesvormas, who had been selected to do food inspections on a contract basis, was in attendance and said he would not be willing to be considered for the expanded position. The Board made no decision, but would be willing to look at the job description before deciding. Until that time, the Board is willing to consider Kesvormas for the Food Inspector’s position on a contractual basis.
Residents of Koontz Lake and surrounding communities turned out Saturday afternoon to honor 50 year Koontz Lake firefighter Robert “Lynn” Fraine.
It all began for Lynn in August of 1960 when he made a commitment to help protect his community. Actually, it began a little earlier when the fire department would recruit high schoolers to help fight fires. Continue reading
WKVI’s Anita Goodan has reached the top of the leaderboard in the WKVI Bowling Standings after she bowled a 225 Thursday night, beating WKVI’s Tom Berg’s game of 224. The station “trophy” for the highest game bowled in a season by a WKVI bowler was moved into her office early Friday morning.
Three fire departments responded to a house fire in the 8100 block on State Road 23 in Koontz Lake Thursday night at approximately 7:30 p.m. CT.
The Koontz Lake, Hamlet and Walkerton Fire Departments were called to the Frye residence and Koontz Lake Fire Chief, Randy Collins, told WKVI’s Anita Goodan that a fire had started in the 2nd story of the home. The three occupants of the home, their pets and the firefighters were not injured. The Indiana State Fire Marshal’s office has been called into investigate the cause of the fire. Collins said the home was a total loss.
Starke County EMS assisted at the scene.
The Lisa Owens story this week has brought up an interesting question. How did the sentence modification occur?
On May 23rd of 2001, Lisa Owens killed her husband Jeff. On August 8th, Owens and the State entered into a plea agreement that provided that she plead guilty to Voluntary Manslaughter. The agreement called for the Starke Circuit Court to sentence her to 40 years in the Department of Corrections.
